Process and means for manufacturing artificial silk by the stretching spinning method



may 13 1924. 31,493,545

, M. HOLKEN, JR PROCESS AND MEANS FOR MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SILK BYTHE STRETCHING SPINNING METHOD Filed Jan. 25, 1923 Fig.1

ii atent May 13, 111924.

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MARTIN HoLKEN, an, or BARMEN, GERMANY.

PROCESS AND MEANS FOR MANUFACTURING ARTIFICIAL SILK BY THE STRETCHING-SPINNING METHOD.

Application filed January 25, 1823. Serial No. 614,824.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, MARTIN H6LKEN, J r1, a citizen of Germany, residingat Barmen, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inProcesses and Means for Manufacturing Artificial Silk by the StretchingSpinning Method, of which the following is a specification.

This invention has reference to the socalled stretching spinning methodfor producing artificial silk from cellulose solutions, and inparticular copper-oxid-ammonia solutions in which means are provided forfirst passing the comparatively thick threads discharged from thespinning outlet, sprinkler or rose head first through a liquid flowingin the direction of delivery of the threads, and serving for thewashing.

out of the solvent, the so-called precipitating liquor, the threadsbeing stretched, that is to say distended to the desired degree offineness upon their passage through this precipitating liquor, andduring the-possibly directly succeeding passage through the-air,

and being then only solidified by treatment with a hardening liquid.With a view of producing as uniform an article as possible by theworking of the spinning devices of which a greater number is ordinarilyemployed to work side by side of each other,

both the feeding with cellulose solution as well as the feeding withprecipitating liquor is effected for each solution by means of a singlecontainer in common for a larger number of spinning devices. In spite ofthe regulation of the pressure of the precipitating liquid with apparentprecision the desired result is not obtained, but on the contrary thethreads furnished by the different spinning devices fed in common withthe precipitating liquid, prove to be still lacking in uniformity. Itturns out, in particular, that the solvent, thus for example copperoxideammonia, in some of the spinning devices is but incompletelyprecipitated, while in other spinning, devices the precipitating. liquidis acting far too strongly so as to attack the threads. This result,according to my experiments seems to be due to the fact that in the sameperiod of times a relatively larger amount of precipitating liquid isfed through one of the spinning devices, and a relatively smaller amountof the precipitating liquid through the other device on account of thedifference in the resistances the precipitating liquid through theseveralspinning means.

It is the object of this invention to overcome this difficulty, and inview thereof, provision is made to not only supply a plurality ofspinning devices intended for the manufacture of uniform goods withprecipitating liquid from a common container, but I also provide fordistributing the precipitating liquid to each spinning device in exactlyadjusted quantities agreeing for all the different spinning means. Thisobject may be accomplished by providing a special pump of exactlyadjustable, and controllable delivering capacity for feeding theprecipitating liquid to each spinning means from a common container, thedelivery capacity of all the pumps being adjusted in exact agreement,which may be effected for instance, by operating the pumps which may beconstructed as rotary gear or cog-wheel pumps with an equal number'ofrevolution.

By means of this new method of procedure it becomes possible to soregulate the action of the precipitating liquor upon the threads that inall spinning means which are fed in common with precipitating liquid, abundle of threads is obtained from which the solvent has been completelyprecipitated, and which on the other hand, has not undergone anyinjurious influence by the action of the precipitating liquid so thatall the spinning means produce threads of exactly the I plurality ofspinning dev-ices arranged side by side of each other, partly in frontview and partly in vertical axial section, with the correspondingcontainers for the precipitat' ing liquid in vertical longitudinalsection.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section through one of the pumps.

In the drawing 1, 2, 3 indicate a plurality of adjacently arrangedspinning devices, each provided with a spinning rose head or sprinkler awith admission pipe I) for the cellulose solution. The spinningsprinklers a, a are each arranged at the upperends of glass cylinders 0each containing a downwardly narrowing glass funnel d which serves forthe purpose of allowing the threads delivered from the sprinkler ato bedownwardly guided together with the precipitating liquid.

Such precipitating liquor is admitted at the bottom of the cylinder 0through a pipe 7; it ascends in the cylinder, and enters the funnel d byoverflowing its upper edge, the liquid then flowing downwards withincreasing velocity, and in its movement carries the bundle of threadsalong with it, from which the solvent is precipitated at the same time.The threads issuing from the spinning heads a, a are known to becomparatively thick, and upon their travel through the precipitatingliquid, and, whenever required, during the directly succeeding passagethrough the air the threads are distended by mechanical stretching downto the desired degree of fineness; they are then solidified by the treatment with a hardening liquid, and in conclusion they are coiled after,or even during the treatment with the precipitating liquid. Thestretching of the threads is mostly eli'ected by the pull of thewinding-up device, and may be assisted by the inertia of theprecipitating liquid flowing in the direction of the delivery of thethreads. The means for the treatment of the threads with hardeningliquid are not shown in the drawing as they do not form a necessary partof the invention, and may be of any well known kind.

The spinning devices of which a large number may be arranged side byside of each other, are all fed from a common liquid tank 9 mountedabove the devices. The precipitating liquid is admitted to each spinningdevice by means of a gear or cog wheel pump it of any wellknown'const-ruction and connected at its suction side by means of a pipe2' with the common containeror tank 9, and on its pressure side by thepipe f already re ferred to with the glass cylinder 0 of thecorresponding spinning devices 1, 2, Flow interrupting members k, areinserted in the pipe 2', in order to be able to cut out one or the otherspinning device, whenever required. V

The cog or gear wheel pumps h. h are all of the same size and theyconsequently exhibit exactly agreeing delivering capacities,

and independently of the pressure prevailing in their feeding conduits2', The cog wheel pumps h are driven by a common shaft 722, to whichthey are coupled by the pairs of gear wheels 91, 0 possessing exactlythe same ratio of transmission in all of the pumps, so as to driveallthe pumps with exactly agreeing liquid distributed to the severalspinning de vices may be adjusted and regulated in common for allspinning devices, and in exact agreement, so as to correspond to thecomposition of the cellulose solution or to the desired degree ofprecipitation of the liquid which object is attained by adjusting thenumber of revolutions of the driving shaft m to be effected for instanceby a suitable train of gear wheel or of frictional wheels ofknownconstruction, not shown in the drawing. By working in this manner theuniformity of the threads of artificial silk is insured, inasmuch as allspinning devices, which are fed jointly with precipitating liquid arecaused to produce threads of exactly identical properties, that is tosay, such threads from which the solvent has been removed by theprecipitating liquid, but which are not attacked by the precipitatingliquid. Among other advantages it may be mentioned-as one of theimportant constructional advantages of the device according to thisinvention, that there is no necessity of the conduits 2', 71 leadingfrom the common elevated container to the several spinning devices or tothe corresponding pumps having equal length, and there is the furtheradvantage that the pumps may be connected to a common feeding conduit,inasmuch as the feeding output of the pumps h, h is independent on thepressure of the admitted liquid.

In place of the 00,; wheel or gear wheel pumps herein shown other pumpsmay also be used, if desired, such as piston pumps or other distributingmeans the feeding efficiency of which is exactly adjustable and, on theother hand, is independent of the pressure of the admitted liquid, so asto insure thereby the admission of exactly determinable quantities ofliquid at all times.

The invention obviously admits of various alterations and modificationsin accordance withdifi'erent modes of application,

and to suit the convenience of the operator.

and it is to be understood that all such changes are within the spiritof my invention and within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

- 1. In the process of stretchingly spinning artificial silk threadsfrom cellulose solutions, particularly from copperoxide ammoniacellulosesolutions feeding a plurality of spinning devices jointly withprecipmeatea m itating liquid, and distributing the precpitatin liquidinexactly measured quantities agreemg for all individual spinningdevices.

2. In the process of stretchingly spinning artificial silk threads fromcellulose solutions feeding a plurality of spinning devices jointly withprecipitating liquid, and apportioning the liquid to each of saidspinning devices in exactly measured agreeing, adjustable quantities. Q

3. In the process of stretchin ly spinning artificial silk threads fromce lulose solu."

tions feeding a plurality of spinning devices jointly with precipitatingliquid, and apportioning the liquid to each of said spinning devices injointly and concurrently regulatable quantities.

4. In the process of stretchingly spinning artificial silk threads fromcellulose solutions, feeding a plurality of spinning -devices from acommon source with precipitating liquid, and apportioning theprecipitating liquid to each spinning device by a separate pump ofexactly regulatable delivering capacity, the said capacity of all thepumps being concurrently adjustable.

5. In the process of stretchingly spinning artificial silk threads fromcellulose solu-.

tions, feeding a plurality of spinning de-- vices from a common sourcewith precipitat: ing liquid, and apportioning the precipitat: ing liquidto each spinning-device by a separate pump of exactly determinabledelivering capacity, the delivering capacities of all the pumps beingjointly and concurrently adjustable. i

6. Inthe process of stretchingly spinning artificial silk threads fromcellulose solutions, feeding a plurality of spinning devices from acommon source with precipitating liquid, and apportioning theprecipitating liquid to each spinning device by a separate pump, ofexactly identical, regulatable delivering capacity, all the pumps beingdriven jointly and with equal numbers of revolutions.

7. In an apparatus for-the manufacture of artificial silk threads by thestretching and spinning method in combination a plurality of spinningdevices, each comprising a spinning sprinkler, adapted for thefurnishing of comparatively thick threads stretchingly extensible to thedesired fineness, a funnel mounted below the sprinkler adapted for theguiding of the threads issuing from the sprinkler, and of aprecipitating liquid, and a cylinder surrounding said funnel for theadmission of the pre-- cipitating liquid to the upper end of the funnel,a common source of supply for feeding the spinning devices withprecipitating liquid, a number of pumps corresponding to the number ofspinning devices,

' adapted for and of exactly determinable,regulatable deliveringcapacity, thepumps being connect-- ed on the one hand the common sourceof liquid, and on the otlierhand with one of the spinning devices, and acommon driving member for the pumps, adapted to operate the latter so asto feed concurring amounts of liquid to the spinning devices.

8. In an apparatus for the manufacture of artificial silk threads by thestretching and spinning method in combination a plurality of spinningdevices, each comprising a spinning sprinkler, adapted for thefurnishing of comparatively thick threads stretchingly extensible to thedesired fineness, a funnel mounted below the sprinkler. adapted for theguiding of the threads issuwith the common source of precipitatingliquid, and on the other hand with .one of said spinning devices, ajoint driving memher for the pumps adapted to operate the same withconcurring numbers of revolution.

9. In an apparatus for the manufacture of artificial silk threads by thestretching and spinning method in combination a plurality of splnningdevices, each comprising a spinning sprinkler, adapted for the furnishing of comparatively thick threads stretchingly, extensible to thedesired fineness, a funnel mounted below the sprinkler guiding thethreads issuin from said sprinkler, and of a precipitate liquid, and acylinder surrounding said funnel for the admission of the precipitatingliquid to the upper end of the funnel, a common source of supply forfeedin the spinning device with precipitating hquid, a number of gearwheel pumps corresponding to the number of spinning devices, and ofexactly agreeing, controllable delivering capacity, the gear pumps beingconnected on the one hand to the common source of precipitating liquid,and on the other hand with one of the spinning devices, a common drivingshaft for the gear wheel pum s, and gear wheel trains of the same ratloo transmission for the coupling of the gear wheel pumps with the commondriving shaft.

In testimony whereof I 'aifix my signature.

MARTIN HOLKEN, IR.

